Latehar, September 1: In a massive blow to Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP), nine extremists, including the group’s zonal and sub-zonal commanders, laid down arms before police in Latehar district. The surrender took place under the Jharkhand government’s ‘Naya Disha’ surrender and rehabilitation policy.
This marks the first time in Jharkhand that such a large group of militants from one outfit has surrendered together. The government had announced a total reward of ₹23 lakh on the surrendered extremists.
The militants surrendered with a huge cache of arms, including 1 AK-56, 4 AK-47 rifles, 3 SLRs, 2 .303 rifles, 1 30.60 MI rifle, 1782 live rounds, and 26 magazines. Police confirmed that several of these weapons, including the AK-56 and four AK-47s, were looted from security forces.
Among those who surrendered were Zonal Commander Ravindra Yadav (₹5 lakh reward), Sub-Zonal Commander Akhilesh Yadav (₹5 lakh reward), Baldev Ganjhu alias Amresh Ganjhu alias Chashamli (₹5 lakh reward), Mukesh Ram alias Kallu alias Ravi alias Azad (₹5 lakh reward), Pawan alias Ram Prasad (₹3 lakh reward), Area Commander Dhuru ji alias Raju Ram alias Guardian, along with Vijay Yadav, Shravan Singh alias Paras Singh, and Mukesh Ganjhu.
The event took place in the presence of senior officers, including CRPF IG Saket Kumar Singh, IG (Operations) Michael Raj Ash, IG (Palamu) Sunil Bhaskar, DIG Naushad Alam, SP Kumar Gaurav, and DDC Mo Syed Riyaz Ahmed. The officers welcomed the militants into the mainstream with bouquets, shawls, and symbolic cheques of their reward money.
CRPF IG Saket Kumar Singh declared that JJMP has been completely wiped out from Latehar, adding that extremism has already been eliminated from Garhwa, Simdega, Khunti, and Saraikela. He reiterated the government’s target of making Jharkhand fully free from extremism by 2025.
